Audit: 11 from Ohio village in fiscal trouble owe nearly $1M

COLUMBUS (AP) — A state audit says the former mayor and administrator of a central Ohio village that went into fiscal emergency are among 11 people who should repay a combined total of nearly $1 million in illegal spending.

The state auditor’s office says the Mount Sterling audit released today caps an investigation that led to convictions for four people.

The office says over $870,000 of the ordered repayment is tied to a former village administrator who overpaid himself, used village funds to buy personal items and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges including theft in office.

A former mayor and his assistant also were convicted of theft. A fiscal officer pleaded guilty to falsification.